Tags
almond flour, BBQ, butter, chocolate, chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chips, coconut flour, coconut sugar, Cookie, cookies, dessert, gluten-free, grain-free, nestle, paleo, real deal, tollhouse
My aunt has been visiting for the last month and it’s been great to see her the few times we’ve been able to get together. Unfortunately, it was time for her to be getting back home, so my cousins threw her a going away BBQ. Since everyone was volunteering to bring something, I figured since she has Celiac disease (causes an immune reaction after eating gluten), I would make some grain-free chocolate chip cookies that I had recently tried from the Against All Grain cookbook. They have been the closest thing to real chocolate chip cookies that I have come across and everyone loves a good chocolate chip cookie!
I made the real Nestle Tollhouse cookies and the grain-free version, and both were gone by the end of the BBQ. Actually, they were both such a hit that they had to be hidden away until after dinner because people were scarfing them down before we were even close to eating. I’d say that’s a sign of a great recipe!
REAL DEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
from the blog Against All Grain
NOTE: The recipe on the blog involves using a food processor the entire time. Of all the kitchen appliances and tools I own, believe it or not, I do not own a food processor. I guess it’s something I never really needed, until now. But I still haven’t bought one – in fact I bought a second KitchenAid mixer instead. I guess that shows how important a food processor is to me. Therefore, I used one of my mixers for this whole recipe. The only thing I did differently this time around, as compared to the first time I made it, was to put the almond and coconut flours into my Vitamix (high-speed blender) to get them a little more fine. The first attempt at making these cookies ended with a more grainy cookie and I think it’s because the flours were not fine enough. I figured that since she uses the food processor, this appliance grinds the flours more than a mixer, so I tried something different the second time. They came out much, much better.
This recipe follows the same directions as a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe, so it wasn’t too hard to make. You mix the oil/butter (I used butter), sugar (I used the coconut sugar), eggs, and vanilla together until fluffy and smooth. You then add the dry ingredients and mix until all ingredients are incorporated.
In my process, I put the almond flour and coconut flour (together) in the Vitamix and only blended for a minute. Leave them in there any longer and you’ll end up with a nut butter. This made the flours a little pasty, but still dry enough to crumble. I then added the rest of the dry ingredients before mixing them with the butter/sugar mixture.
I then added the chocolate chips into the mixer for a quick mix. I scraped down the sides of the bowl and got out my ice cream scooper!
*I used the paddle attachment the whole time I was mixing this recipe together. 
I love using an ice cream scooper for cookie doughs. It’s so much easier than the 2-spoon method (taught to me by my mom and grandmother) and all the cookies come out the same size. This makes for even baking and prettier-looking cookies. I have a few sizes of scoopers and I like the smaller scoops (not mini though – that’s too small).
I don’t know why, but these cookies do not spread during baking. Maybe it’s the lack of gluten flours and/or processed sugars (because that’s the only real difference). Therefore, you MUST press these cookies down before baking or they will just bake in the shape of the ball you scoop. Trust me, I made this mistake the first time around. Luckily, I had been watching the cookies and was curious why they were still shaped like a ball 3 minutes into the baking time and caught my mistake. This time, I sprayed wax paper with a little cooking spray and flattened the cookies BEFORE I put them into the oven. Much easier, much cleaner, and they looked much better than my first attempt.
Though they do not spread during baking, they do get some rising action.
Below is a picture I took of a grain-free cookie and a regular chocolate chip cookie next to each other. There are definitely differences, but both look pretty darn delicious. I made a little guessing game out of it and people were pretty adept at guessing which cookie was the grain-free one. I guess that tells me just how traditional a chocolate chip cookie is. We all have had one, we all know what they look like, and we are all kids when we get to eat one.
I even got complaints at the BBQ that I didn’t make enough…guess I should stock up on chocolate chips.
The next time you have a BBQ or just want a good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookie, give this recipe a try and I guarantee you will be happily surprised by how close it comes to the Nestle Tollhouse version. This is about the only time I would consider having a nice big, cold glass of milk…guess I’ll settle for my coconut milk.
